Looking to build a new PC

[TalianEdge]

Hello everyone, I'm looking to build a new PC as my current one is just not cutting it anymore.

Budget: $1000 CAN
Games / Settings Desired: Witcher 3, FFXIV want to play both on high or ultra if possible.
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc): Nope
Country: Ontario, Canada
Parts that can be reused: None
Do you need an OS? No
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)? No, will be using my current peripherals.

Thanks for the help.

[Deleted]

Here you go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.89 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($116.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Toxic Video Card ($266.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $995.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-27 20:52 EDT-0400

You can add a 1TB HDD later on if you need extra storage.

[Master Guns]

If you can toss in about 60 more bucks from the build above you could get a 970. But I also thinks it's odd to expect someone to live off of 250gb. What is this, 2005?

[Kagthul]

I'd toss that SSD by the wayside, get a 1TB SSHD, and put the rest towards a better GPU.

[Deleted]

I would get an aftermarket cooler later on along with an ssd if you can't afford them now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.95 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($379.00 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $1038.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 02:49 EDT-0400

[Deleted]

If you can toss in about 60 more bucks from the build above you could get a 970. But I also thinks it's odd to expect someone to live off of 250gb. What is this, 2005?

You can add a 1TB HDD later on if you need extra storage.

- - - Updated - - -

Revised the build since AMD and 280X seems a little behind in Witcher, makes sense (if possible) to squeeze in a GTX 970:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.95 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($394.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($66.99 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $1046.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-28 11:29 EDT-0400

Changed the SSD to HDD to save money, got rid of the aftermarket heatsink for the CPU. Both can be added later even though I would personally not be happy without an SSD.

Changed RAM, slightly better CAS and the price is better.

The MSI GPU in the build above mine is not the case that it shows in the link so I changed to this EVGA unit.

[Dezx]

I am not sure about getting rid of the SSD, after going from an HDD to SSD I'd never go back. Get the HDD later for storage.

[Kagthul]

I am not sure about getting rid of the SSD, after going from an HDD to SSD I'd never go back. Get the HDD later for storage.

At this budget level, where you are still short on performance goals, an SSD is a luxury. Or to put it this way:

Option 1: Sub-par framerates/performance + SSD
Option 2: meet framerate goals, no SSD

I know which option i pick 11 times out of 10. An additional 10 seconds of loading time is an acceptable thing for better framerates.

Also, with Seagate's newer line of SSHD/Hybrid Drives being about 10$ US more expensive than a traditional HDD of the same size, you can get near-SSD performance (particularly for OS loading and frequently used Apps) without sacrificing capacity or blowing your budget.

[TalianEdge]

Thanks for all the replies alot to read over. For now think I'll go with a HDD over a SSD and down the line pick up a SSD.

[Lathais]

I am not sure about getting rid of the SSD, after going from an HDD to SSD I'd never go back. Get the HDD later for storage.

So if you are on a budget and had the choice between

i5-4690K/HDD
i3-4160/SSD

You would pick the i3?

What about:

GTX970/HDD
GTX960/SSD

You would take the 960?

Sure, if your budget allows, get the i5/970/SSD. If the budget does not allow however, the SSD is the first thing to go as it does not affect performance.

[Master Guns]

^^ exactly. I don't get why people think SSDs are required. They don't effect game performance whatsoever, just load times. But this has all been said a thousand times.

[Deleted]

Of course it has an effect on gaming performance just not a straight up FPS gain. Having gamed on exact same spec laptops/PC for example with and without an SSD I can tell you there certainly a is a noticeable difference.

Either way we know OP's priorities and that he wants good performance in Witcher so the change from SSD makes sense and it's not like it can't be added later on.

[Lathais]

Of course it has an effect on gaming performance just not a straight up FPS gain. Having gamed on exact same spec laptops/PC for example with and without an SSD I can tell you there certainly a is a noticeable difference.

Either way we know OP's priorities and that he wants good performance in Witcher so the change from SSD makes sense and it's not like it can't be added later on.

Granted, the only games I have really looked at are MMOs, but my wife and I have identical machines, mine runs on SSD hers on an HDD. Have not upgraded hers because she is dragging ass on backing up all her photos and stuff. Probably just gonna install OS on SSD this weekend anyway and just not wipe the other drive yet, but that's beside the point. Between the two identical systems, I see no difference in loading screens when we are playing FFXIV and zone at the same time. No real difference in log in loading either. I suspect this may be due to the fact then in MMOs when loading it's waiting on server data and CPU work, not loading from SSD/HDD though. Outside of MMOs we play entirely different games, so not really a way to compare.

[Master Guns]

Of course it has an effect on gaming performance just not a straight up FPS gain. Having gamed on exact same spec laptops/PC for example with and without an SSD I can tell you there certainly a is a noticeable difference.

Either way we know OP's priorities and that he wants good performance in Witcher so the change from SSD makes sense and it's not like it can't be added later on.

Sorry but my personal experience completely contradicts this. I've played WoW, Skyrim, and Far Cry 3 on both an HDD and SSD with literally no difference whatsoever aside from loading screens taking a second or two longer on the HDD. This is with tests done with my OS on my SSD and games on an HDD and then OS and games on an SSD. So the tests ran with games on an HDD didn't suffer from read/write bottlenecking.

So please explain, in detail (which you can, right? Because it was so noticeable), this noticeable difference?

[Deleted]

I'm not taking the topic further off-topic and I'm not taking your bait or commenting further on your passive aggressive comments. I don't know who you are or why you keep trying to take little stabs at my comments in various topics. Maybe you hold a grudge from the past where you've provided nothing but anecdotal evidence and have had made up or wrong numbers and you've been called out on it. Anyways I have nothing further to comment on, if you wanna debate SSD vs HDD you can open a new topic or take it to the chat thread.

Alright again, the GPU and build has been adjusted based on feedback and seeing how badly AMD performs in Witcher 3 in comparison. Changed the SSD to an HDD to accommodate the more expensive GPU. I believe OP has settle on this change too.

[Jtbrig7390]

Here you go:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($279.98 @ DirectCanada)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! PURE ROCK 87.0 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.89 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($116.75 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Toxic Video Card ($266.00 @ Vuugo)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $995.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-27 20:52 EDT-0400

You can add a 1TB HDD later on if you need extra storage.

Personally I would drop the SSD for a 1TB HD save $60 there and then switch out the video card for a GTX 970 But thats just me. I got a HD in my recently built Comp and I just don't care about loading times.

But like I said thats just me whatever floats peoples boat.

Edit: Shit totally didn't see your second post so mybad this post was pointless.

[Deleted]

Personally I would drop the SSD for a 1TB save $60 there and then switch out the video card for a GTX 970 But thats just me. I got a HD in my recently built Comp and I just don't care about loading times.

But like I said thats just me whatever floats peoples boat.

Read post #6

[Jtbrig7390]

Read post #6

Ya just edited and said mybad. I guess I should read all the posts

[Deleted]

Ya just edited and said mybad. I guess I should read all the posts

All good, I do that sometimes too

[Kagthul]

Of course it has an effect on gaming performance just not a straight up FPS gain.

Faster loading times are not a performance gain.